CONOR OBERST
Outer South
(Merge)
Rating: 
Freed from the “next” labels—Dylan, Big Thing, K. D. Lang look-alike—that have burdened his prolific, earnest career, Conor Oberst finally seems to be living in the now. Last year the 29-year-old dropped his Bright Eyes moniker (and all the emo expectations that came with it), hotfooted to Mexico, and recorded a fast and loose eponymous album with some skilled sidemen named the Mystic Valley Band. Outer South, recorded in El Paso with the same group, just might be the best thing Oberst has ever done: a warm, lived-in set of songs that amble from gentle folk (“Ten Women”) to Fleetwood Mac–worthy light pop (“Bloodline”). It’s instantly familiar and surprisingly great.
